Operation: Love Con
by Zexo87
Summary: When Lincoln comes home from the Ace Savvy comic convention one afternoon gushing over his new friend Renee, his sisters realize that something is obviously in the air. Though he may try to deny it, they all recognize a crush when they see one. So they decide to take it upon themselves to follow him around the convention and help him impress his new love interest.


It was a calm, relaxing evening in the Loud house. All ten sisters were gathered in the living room watching _The Dream Boat_ , eagerly awaiting to see who Karen would pick to send overboard. "If she kicks off Bram, I am completely done," said Lucy.

"Oh puh-lease! That creep deserves to walk the plank. He literally snuck up on her as she was coming out of the bathroom," Lori replied, making everybody except Lucy shudder.

"Pfft! Mortals," Lucy scoffed.

Just then, the front door burst open and in entered their one and only brother Lincoln, dressed in his Ace Savvy costume and looking super excited. "Wahoo! Best day EVER!" he shouted.

"Hey, Lincoln. I take it your comic convention was _aces_ ," Luan quipped. "Hahahaha! Get it?"

"It was better than I ever could've dreamed. I was kinda disappointed at first about going alone since Clyde is out of town, but when I got there, I ran into this girl I knew. Her name is Renee and she's just as big of an Ace Savvy fan as I am."

"Well, congratulations to you, elder brother," Lisa commented.

"I met up with her at the front entrance," Lincoln enthusiastically continued. "Her Ace costume was almost as good as mine. Almost! We hung out together the whole day. We played the advanced trivia game and she totally creamed me. She was lightning on the buzzer and she knew some answers that even I was sketchy on. Oh, and you should see the way she chucks ninja cards. It's so fierce…"

As the boy went on and on about his new friend, all of the girls exchanged knowing glances with each other, each starting to piece together what was going on.

"Gee, bro. Sounds like you remember more about this Renee chick than the actual con," Luna commented.

"Yeah, well, she made that convention the greatest one I've ever been to. She's super fun and cool… and talented… and nice… and funny…" Lincoln began to trail off. "And when she unties her hair, it's like the most-" He suddenly realized what he was saying. "Uhhh, I gotta go. There's a Q & A tomorrow and I gotta figure out what questions I'm gonna ask. I just know Renee's gonna come up with some great ones!"

With that, Lincoln ran up to his room. His sisters weren't fooled for a second. They knew the signs of a serious crush when they saw them.

"Am I crazy or did old Cupid hit a bullseye today?" Luan asked.

"Oh yeah," Lola confirmed. "That boy has got it BAD."

"Aww! Linky's in love!" Leni cooed. "I really hope everything goes alright. I'd love to get to meet his new girlfriend."

"Me too," Lori agreed. "Although, this is Lincoln we're talking about and he's not exactly a master ladies' man."

The girls realized that she had a point. They remembered a few of Lincoln's previous romantic episodes. Creeping out a girl named Christina. Insulting Ronnie Anne three times right in front of her (whether intentionally or not). All those girls at the Sadie Hawkins Dance and, most recently, a girl named Paige, whom they could only assume hadn't returned his affections. Lincoln's track record with girls was rather pathetic.

"Wow. You're right," said Lynn. "He does kinda stink at romance."

"Exactly," Lori said. "And I'm pretty sure he's not gonna last very long this time unless we give him a helping hand."

"But he's not going to be happy if we interfere in his love life again," said Lucy.

"Then we'll just have to be sneaky about it."

"What do you mean?" asked Lana.

"I mean we follow Lincoln and his friend around the convention tomorrow and keep him from making a complete idiot of himself. If something goes wrong, we'll be there to set it right. Without being seen."

The girls all seemed to agree with Lori's plan. "Good idea, Lori," said Lucy. "Besides, I think we should keep an eye on this Renee girl to make sure she's good enough for Lincoln. He's done so much for all of us. The last thing I'd want would be for him to get his heart broken."

"Good point, Lucy," Luan agreed. "I mean, for all we know, she could just be toying with him just for some sick kick. And once she's had her fun, she'll toss him out like last week's moldy pie. Oh, that reminds me. Nobody eat the pie in the fridge."

Lana paused and looked at the slice of pie she was eating. Then she just shrugged and continued.

"Well we're not gonna let that happen, right dudes?" said Luna.

"Right!" Lori confirmed. "Huddle up, girls. It's time to prepare Operation: Love Con."

The Loud girls were all hidden at various checkpoints around the entrance of the convention center. They all kept a close eye on Lincoln through binoculars as he just stood there looking around. Lori stood crouched behind a potted plant as she spoke into her walkie.

"Lisa. Can you see anyone approaching?" she said.

Lisa was the closest to Lincoln, standing behind a pillar just out of his sight. "Negative," she replied. But then something caught her eye. "Wait. I'm getting something."

The girls all saw their brother smile and wave at somebody far away. When they turned to see who it was, there was a girl with a brown ponytail waving back at him. She was wearing an Ace Savvy costume just like Lincoln's. She ran over and met him at the entrance.

"Ooh! That's gotta be her," Luan said as the two costumed kids high-fived each other.

"She sure looks like she loves Ace Savvy as much as Lincoln does," Leni observed.

"Be that as it may, we still need to keep a close visual on her," said Lisa.

Lincoln and Renee exchanged a few words that the girls couldn't make out and ran into the convention hall.

"Alright, guys," Lori said. "Operation: Love Con is a go. Move out."

The girls discreetly tracked Lincoln and Renee into the vendors' hall. It was hard not to lose them in the crowd without being seen. Everywhere they looked, there were people wearing strange costumes. The booths were full of all kinds of stuff, some of which none of them could imagine why anybody would want. They had a hard time maneuvering around people while trying to keep up with their brother and his friend.

"Man, look at this place!" Lynn exclaimed. "I've never seen so many costumed dorks all in one room."

"Eww! What is that smell?!" Lola complained, holding her nose. "It's like a sea of B.O. in here."

"Kinda reminds me of my last concert," Luna recalled. "That was a rad time."

"Focus, guys," said Lori. "We have to keep our eyes on Lincoln and Renee. Did anyone see where they went?"

Lisa's voice suddenly came from Lori's walkie. " _Not to worry. I have visuals_ ," she said. Lori picked it up and answered it.

"Lisa? Where are you?"

" _Look up_." The others all spotted the young genius hanging from the ceiling on tension wires. She was waving down at them and watching Lincoln and Renee through her binoculars. " _I've spotted the targets perusing the commodities three rows to the right of your position_."

"Got it," Lori confirmed. "Okay, girls. Spread out and don't lose sight of them. And make sure to wear your disguises."

They all quickly fanned out and made their way to the spot where Lisa had told them to go. Each wore a disguise so they wouldn't be recognized. Meanwhile, their targets were busy admiring all the different merchandise, some of which was homemade. From drawings to toys to figurines to pillows to… certain things not suitable for all ages, there were so many options to choose from. Soon, something very special caught their eyes.

"Oh my gosh!" Renee beamed with excitement. "I can't believe it! It's an Ace Savvy action figure from 1993 with fifteen original phrases, glowing chest decal and card-launching action! I have been DYING to get my hands on one of those for ages!" Lincoln smiled at seeing Renee so excited. Her joy diminished, though, when she read the price tag. "Fifty bucks? Aw man! That'll blow out my entire budget."

"Sorry kid. That's a pretty good deal considering how rare these things are," said the guy running the stand.

"Are you kidding me? That's a total rip-off!" the girl retorted before sighing in despair.

Lincoln really didn't want her to be disappointed. He searched through his wallet to see if he had enough to buy the action figure. He had sixty dollars in cash, but he really wanted to make sure he at least had enough for food as well, so he decided against it and put his wallet away.

Luan saw the whole thing and radioed the others. "Guys, I've got a code green. Don't worry. I'm on it." Disguised in a fake beard, glasses and a fat suit, she walked up and "accidentally" bumped into Lincoln. "Oops. Sorry, buddy," she said in a low voice.

"No problem," he replied. Then he noticed something on the floor. A twenty dollar bill. He picked it up and called back to the guy who dropped it, but they were already gone. After taking a moment to think, his mind was made up. He took thirty more dollars from his wallet and bought the action figure. He found Renee checking out another booth. When she turned around, he took it out from behind his back and her face instantly lit up.

"HOLY SHUFFLE! How did you pay for this?!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"I got lucky. Here, take it," he explained as he handed it to her.

"Seriously?! Oh wow! Thank you so much! I can't believe you actually bought this for me! That's like the nicest thing ever!" She was so overjoyed that she hugged him right there. Caught by surprise, Lincoln blushed and smiled before hugging her back.

Luan watched them from around a corner. "Yes! Corner pocket!" she said with a fist pump. She called the others on her walkie. "Guys, crisis successfully averted."

" _Good job, Luan_ ," Lori replied.

Lincoln and Renee were having lunch in the food court. She was eating chicken tenders at the table while he was getting some cheese fries. Lucy and the twins watched closely in secret as he carried his tray back to the table.

"Scarecrow to Phone Jockey," Lucy called to Lori over her walkie. "Dandruff and Crush Girl are in the food court."

" _Copy that. Don't let them out of your sight_ ," Lori responded.

"Understood."

As Lincoln was heading to meet Renee at the table, he slipped on an ice cube and fell flat on his face. Renee turned around and helped him up.

"Are you okay, Lincoln?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered. Then he noticed the mess he'd made. "Oh my gosh! Look at your cape!" It was completely dripping with cheese.

"Aw man. It's ruined," Renee complained.

"I'm so sorry!"

"Guys! Code blue!" Lola called. "We need a new cape over here stat!"

" _On my way_ ," Leni answered. The fashionista rushed to the food court as quickly as she could while Lincoln and Renee tried to clean the hot cheese off of her cape. From a distance, she launched a clean, folded cape from a slingshot that hit Lincoln in the back of the head.

"Huh? Where'd this come from?" the boy wondered. He looked around and saw nobody nearby, so he shrugged it off. "Renee, look. I found you a new cape."

"Thanks," Renee said. She took off her old cape and tied the new one around her neck. Lucy and the twins gave Leni a thumbs up and she smiled at her success.

However, it turned out that the congratulations were premature, as pretty soon, Renee started sneezing uncontrollably. One after the other, the sneezes kept coming until Lincoln finally started to worry.

"Renee, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know." Upon closer inspection of her new cape, she found the problem. "This thing is covered in cat hair. I'm allergic to cats."

The sisters all slapped their faces in frustration. "Aw man. Cliff must've been lying on it. We totally blew it."

"I'm sorry," Lincoln apologized, before quickly coming up with another solution. "Here, take mine." The boy offered up his own cape as a replacement.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. It's no big deal."

"Okay." Renee took the cape and tied it around her neck. She stopped sneezing and was able to breathe much easier. "Ah, much better. Thanks Linc. You're awesome."

His sisters were all impressed as well. "Ooh. That was a great save," Lola said.

"Yeah. Looks like Lincoln might be getting better at this," Lucy observed. The girls watched as Renee went back to the counter to buy Lincoln some more fries.

Renee and Lincoln entered a hall with several rows of chairs stacked side by side facing a stage with two TV screens and a microphone. Over half the chairs were filled with people. The two kids took seats in the third row and behind them, Luna and Lisa snuck in and made their way to the control station.

A man in a homemade One-Eyed Jack costume walked out onstage and grabbed the mic. "Hello, Acers!" he said excitedly to the crowd. "Who's ready for some Crime Fighter Karaoke?!" The room erupted with a big applause. "Alright! For our first performance, I'm gonna need two volunteers to come up and here and sing the Ace Savvy theme song! Who's it gonna be?"

Nearly half the audience raised their hands up super high. Lincoln and Renee were so excited, they both jumped up and down in their seats, desperately hoping to get picked. Their enthusiasm payed off, as the host was impressed and summoned them up on stage.

Luna and Lisa approached the lady working the sound board, who was sniffling and rubbing her nose. "Pardon me, miss, but you look like you could use a tissue," Lisa said, offering her a handkerchief.

"Oh, thanks." After she blew her nose in it, however, she passed out right there on the floor.

"Works every time," Lisa grinned with satisfaction. She and Luna now had control over the audio. Meanwhile, their brother and his friend each grabbed a microphone as the music began to play. Lincoln took the first verse while Renee sang the chorus.

 _"Who's the super cool detective,_

 _Who puts the criminals in their place?"_

 _"Ace!"_

 _"You're dang right._

 _Who's always got one in the hole?_

 _Always cool and in control?"_

 _"Ace!"_

 _"Can you dig it?"_

As the two kids looked each other in the eyes and smiled, Luna started to feel a twinge of faith for her little brother. "Hey, he's really cookin' it. Maybe we won't need to jump in here after all." Then the next verse came around and it was Renee's turn to lead.

 _"Who never lets evil slide_

 _While Lady Luck is on his side?"_

 _"Ace!"_

 _"Oh yeah."_

Out of nowhere, she gave Lincoln a wink that seemed almost flirtatious. Lincoln suddenly looked like he'd been shot in the back. He just stood there like a dumb statue while the music continued.

 _"Folks say that Ace is a big joker."_

Renee waited for Lincoln to say the next line. He knew what it was. He just had to push it out. "Uh… uh… s-s-shu… sh-shut y-y-you…"

"Uh oh," Luna said as she took notice of Lincoln's condition.

"You were saying?" Lisa retorted.

"Quick! Do something!"

Luckily, the genius Loud was prepared to deal with such a situation. She pulled out a flash drive and plugged it into the laptop on the sound board. She had heard Lincoln sing this very same song many times in the shower. All she had to do was upload the audio file from the bathroom security system, do a little editing and bingo. The sound of Lincoln's singing could once again be heard sounding through the hall, perfectly filtered. Lincoln and Renee were both confused, but the crowd didn't seem to mind. They all kept watching and listening in hushed excitement.

"Hey you!" Just as Lisa was patting herself on the back, the DJ was now wide awake and very upset.

"Dang it. I knew I shouldn't've used the cheap chloroform."

"Hang on, dude. We can explain," Luna spoke up.

"I don't wanna hear it. Just get away from my sound board."

The girls didn't want her interfering with their operation, so they tried to hold her back. Pretty soon, a full on fight broke out. Punching, kicking, biting, scratching, hair pulling, all over control of the sound system. Eventually, the DJ got the better of them and they were both flung onto the stage. They were met by the surprised stares of the audience members as well as the disapproving glare of their brother.

" _Luna? Lisa? Come in! Are you there? What's your status? Over!_ " Lori's voice gave them away over Luna's walkie. She looked to Lincoln with a nervous, questioning glance.

"Go ahead. Answer it," he said.

She picked up her walkie and clicked the button. "Uh, Lori. We've just been made, dude."

Lincoln was staring down every one of his sisters at once, who all looked rather ashamed. "How many times do I have to tell you guys to stay out of my personal business?!" he shouted.

"We're sorry, Lincoln," Leni said. "We just knew how much you liked Renee and we wanted to help you impress her."

"But we knew you wouldn't let us do it willingly, so we decided to be sneaky with it," Lana added.

"What are you saying?" Lincoln snapped. "That you don't think a girl could like me just for being myself?"

"No, it's not like that!" Lori defended. "It's just that, well, given your history with girls, we just thought you could use a little help."

"Well, it's nice to know that you guys have so little faith in me."

"It wasn't just that, Lincoln," said Lisa. "We also wanted to determine whether or not this particular female was appropriate for you."

"What do you mean appropriate?"

"We wanted to make sure Renee was good enough for our brother," Luna explained.

Lincoln sighed. "Look, I appreciate you all trying to look out for me, but you need to trust me to handle these things myself. And let me decide who's right for me."

Just then, Lincoln felt someone tap him on the shoulder. "Um, Lincoln?" said a voice from behind. He turned around and saw Renee standing there.

"Renee," he said surprised. "Hey, I'm sorry about what happened back there. I didn't mean for this day to go so wrong. I understand if you don't wanna hang out with me anymore."

"Are you crazy? This has been the most exciting day of my life. Do you know how hard it is to find somebody who loves comics as much as I do? Lincoln, I've had more fun with you this weekend than I ever would've had by myself. Besides, if your sisters are willing to go to that much trouble just to help you, you must really be worth it."

"Seriously? Wow, thanks." Lincoln decided that now would be as good a time as any to tell her the truth. "Renee, I… I have to tell you something." He took a deep breath. "I…. I-I really, uh… I mean…. I think you're really…. super cool and… like the coolest girl I've ever met… and… I, uh… I…" He stopped talking when Renee booped him on the nose.

"Hehe. I really like you, too," she said.

"Really?" Lincoln beamed. "Wait. Do you mean like or…. LIKE like?" His question was answered when she gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, causing him to freeze up. "Right! LIKE like! Got it!" Both kids got a good laugh out of that.

Suddenly, Renee realized what time it was. "Hey, the Q&A's gonna start in just a few minutes."

"What are we doing standing here? Come on. I'll race you there," Lincoln challenged excitedly.

"Loser buys the flippies?"

"You're on!"

And with that, the two kids raced off, leaving the sisters filled with pride and admiration.

"Wow. Way to go, Linc," Lynn said.

"Well what do you know?" said Luna. "I guess we underestimated the guy."

"I'm so proud," Luan cooed.

"They are literally adorable together," Lori said on the verge of tears.

"Come on guys. Let's leave them to their nerdy fun," Lucy said. "Something tells me they're gonna be spending a lot more time together."

As the girls turned to leave, they were met once again by the enormous crowd in the hallway. And they all realized that they had no idea where they were going. All they could see was an endless sea of people going this way and that. "Uh… does anyone remember where the exit is?" Leni asked. Nobody answered. Not a good sign.


End file.
